What Is 'Ten Legs, Eight Broken?' The Spider Poem On TikTok That's Making Everyone Cry, Explained

It's not often that a poem goes viral online, however, for Ten Legs, Eight Broken, the poem on TikTok about a wounded spider, the hype makes sense.

What started as a lowly photo slideshow on the app has blossomed into a full-fledged trend, launching the TikTok poet into somewhat of a best-selling writer. It all started earlier in June, and since then, people have started looking at the creepy crawlers in their rooms a little differently.

Curious about who wrote the original Ten Legs, Eight Broken poem and what the TikTok trend surrounding it is all about? Let's explain.

Who Wrote The 'Ten Legs, Eight Broken' Poem On TikTok?

The original photo slideshow was posted by a TikToker named l, e whose username is @user68519586. The majority of their page is photo slideshows that flip through poetry stanzas. Overall, they seem to be an aspiring poet.

They uploaded the original slideshow on June 11th, 2023, and it quickly racked up over 5 million plays and 1 million likes, becoming one of the most-played recent posts underneath the sound for "Emile Mosseri's song "Jacob and the Stone."

What Is The 'Ten Legs, Eight Broken' Poem?

For those who want to read the poem, here's a typed version of it for your enjoyment. As stated, read with caution, as it can evoke emotional reactions, as evident in the videos already made about it:

To the spider,
the shadowed creature in the corner of the room
i hate you.
You scared me just as your brothers and sisters did before you,
and i will tell you what i told them,
You are a trespasser that does not belong here.
You entered without knocking.
Roamed freely like this is your home and decorated my walls with unwanted, silk webs without asking.
You may not be the only killer here, but only one of us is innocent,
and it's not you.
The spider says to me, it's brittle body squashed and dying,
It's not you, either.
There is venom infused in my fang-shaped maws,
but i was born this way.
What's your excuse?
If you could count your murders, how long would you be counting?
Am i really this threatening?
I thought human hearts were bigger that mine, but you have killed with malice instead of marrow of your bones and poison bubbling behind your scowl
And i'm sorry for scaring you,
but i didn't know being seen would cost me my life.
Maybe
If you didn't fabricate the prickly feeling of my legs creeping upon your skin while I crawled across the living room floor,
If the webs I weaved were made of cotton candy and captured clementines, cherries, and sweet peas rather than struggling wings and blood;
If i had a pink tongue, push fur, a wagging tail, and fur legs instead of eight
If i had only two eyes, and they were glittering stars and not supermassive block holes;
If i was the same but looked different;
maybe you wouldn't hate me.
Maybe you wouldn't have loved me, either, and maybe you still wouldn't have let me stay,
but maybe you would've shown me the door or a window.
Maybe you would've shown me mercy.
(But you are still standing, and I am still sorry).
I think
maybe,
no matter how reluctant,
mercy would've been enough.

What Is The 'Spider Poem' TikTok Trend?

Ever since the poem went viral, it's been garnering a lot of reactions and memes. Most of the content about the poem is about how sad it is, essentially from creators who are warning others not to read it due to the strong emotions it evokes. Other video reactions show people saving spiders in their homes, humorously countering the person in the poem. Overall, the trend is wholesome and proves that poetry is still relevant in the modern day.

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For the full history of "Ten Legs, Eight Broken," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for even more information.